Relationship of my name to who I am. . . .

Once when Jacob was cooking stew, Esau came in from the field, and he was exhausted. And Esau said to Jacob, “Let me eat some of that red stew, for I am exhausted!” (Therefore his name was called Edom.) Jacob said, “Sell me your birthright now.” Esau said, “I am about to die; of what use is a birthright to me?” Jacob said, “Swear to me now.” So he swore to him and sold his birthright to Jacob. Then Jacob gave Esau bread and lentil stew, and he ate and drank and rose and went his way. Thus Esau despised his birthright. (Genesis 25:29–34)

In the Bible, a person’s name is often associated with their character. For instance, when David sought refuge with Nabal and this man refused, his wife said: “Let not my lord regard this worthless fellow, Nabal, for as his name is, so is he. Nabal is his name, and folly is with him. But I your servant did not see the young men of my lord, whom you sent.” (1 Samuel 25:25) Nabal means “fool.”

The names of God identify Him also. “For your Maker is your husband, the Lord of hosts is his name; and the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer, the God of the whole earth he is called.” (Isaiah 54:5) Jesus is called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace in Isaiah 9:6 and Matthew 1:23 says, “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel (which means, God with us).” (Matthew 1:23)

Today, people are also known by designations. My hubby often introduces them by their occupation, or their education (engineer, teacher, farmer, dentist). I might say, “Bev is the quilter that lives south of us.” 

People are also called or known by their character; honest man, flirty girl, kind soul, etc. In the above passage, Esau was known for giving up his right of inheritance for a bowl of red stew. The Hebrew word for red is Edom, the name given to the place where he lived.

In thinking of what he did, I think of how many give up or say no to the treasure of eternal life because they would rather not be yielded to the Lordship of Jesus Christ. Putting faith in Him means dying to self-rule and poses the threat of persecution and hardship. Such people are more interested in being comfortable and having their desires satisfied than facing the unknown.

This can happen to Christians also. It is a temptation to let myself be identified as “Elsie” rather than as “a Christian woman” or anything that identifies me as a child of God that might lead to mockery, rejection, loss of respect, and a host of other negatives. When the forms say “Occupation” they want “retired” or “homemaker” or whatever I do, not “follower of Jesus Christ.” 

Yet God gives boldness. These are the people who know the character and love of God by His names and by spending time with His Son, and experiencing the boldness of the Holy Spirit in our lives.

So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. . . . There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love. We love because he first loved us. (1 John 4:16–19)

The enemy often tries thoughts like “How could God love you?” into my head. However, His love was secured and demonstrated on Calvary, not by anything I do or say. The Bible is clear in naming me His beloved child.

PRAY: Jesus, being motivated by love involves a sacrifice, just as You demonstrated by dying for me, yet out of that sacrifice comes eternal life. There is no greater love as You keep telling me and showing me. I don’t ever want to give that up for anything like a bowl of stew or whatever might seem comforting at the time. And thank You for revealing to me that my name does fit this biblical pattern for it means “consecrated to God” and I want to be identified by that name!

 

 

Integrity is vital

At times I’ve tried to speak kindly to people that I don’t feel kindly toward. If another person always talks and never listens, I might act as if I care about all their stories but really don’t. If another person lies to me, I might be polite, but inside I’m not trusting them. If another person goes through the motions of paying attention but is not really listening, I often stop talking just to see what they will do.

I know that Jesus did not have this dual thing going on. He never sinned in pretense — to care when He didn’t because He always cared. He also knows what is in every heart and does not trust Himself to those who fake it. He deals in truth. As the NT says:

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. (John 14:6)

For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. (John 1:17)

And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true; and we are in him who is true, in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life. (1 John 5:20)

Reading this shows the connection of inner character and outer behavior. If they do not match, then it is called hypocrisy or lack of integrity. Connecting that to ‘pretending to be nice’ means that I am not true to myself or to my inner feelings. The solution has two aspects.

One is to be true to how I really feel. Sometimes that is hurtful, but it can also be helpful — only if negative feelings are true about the other person and they are spoken in love like Jesus speaks. His words that expose my sinfulness are loving because He knows the destruction power of sin. He does not want me to go merrily about my bad attitudes so He speaks to me about them.

However, there are times when speaking to another person about their sin is not appropriate and it is better to talk to God about it and let Him deal with them. This means listening to the Holy Spirit to make sure I’m not being silent for the wrong reasons, such as fear of losing a friend.

When John wrote, “I rejoiced greatly to find some of your children walking in the truth, just as we were commanded by the Father” (2 John 4) he was likely referring to gospel truth and the ‘children’ mentioned had faith in Christ, confessed their sins, and were growing more like Jesus. What stands out to me is that he rejoiced in this. If my attitude of “walking in truth” makes people joyful, that is a good thing. Some will not respond this way though because the truth is: unbelievers will hate those who have faith even to persecuting Christians in various ways.

All of this applies to how I think of Jesus. I can say that I know Him and trust Him, but what do I really think? Several verses tell me that His name says much about Him besides that He is truth. He is also Immanuel (which means, God with us (Matthew 1:23) and Light, and the only Way to the Father. Do my thoughts and actions match? Can I hide anything in my head or heart from Him? Not only that, if I say He is “Master” or “Lord” but am not obeying what He commands, do I really think that my Christian words can hide my thoughts from Him? My actions will eventually reveal them because if I really think He is my Lord, I will do what He says. And one of the things He says is:

The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks. (Luke 6:45)

This phrase “the abundance of the heart” is not about the fleeting things that fly in to tempt me, but about what my mind dwells on. If it is not on Christ and on doing the will of God, it is apt to be my will and my way — which translates to selfishness and sinful disobedience. Trying to look good on the outside does not cut it if my heart is unkind or even nasty. This is just one way I can call Jesus Lord but not do as He says.

PRAY: Jesus, more and more I’m seeing how thoughts connect to actions and how they need to match. This is not just about negative junk that needs to be confessed, but about truth concerning You that needs to be shared. I need wisdom and discernment from You to match how I think with how I behave and how I respond to others.


 

Impossible? Or Possible?

One of the most ridiculed tenets of the Gospel of Jesus Christ is the story of His birth. Not that people deny that it happened (as they once did), but that it happened the way that the Bible said it happened.

First, it was prophesied in the Old Testament. But how can an event be known hundreds of years before it happens?

There are several verses but this one is the most well known and probably the most criticized. It is also the one Luke quotes as being said by an angel to Mary.

Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel. (Isaiah 7:14)

And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.” And Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?” And the angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God. (Luke 1:30–35)

This conversation between Mary and the angel say that Jesus is Immanuel just as Matthew’s account affirms:

“Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel” (which means, God with us). (Matthew 1:23)

Putting this together with other verses, the NT says that the birth of Jesus was told to Mary by an angel before it happened, she was a virgin, and the conception would not be about Joseph, but by the Holy Spirit. In other words, Jesus was fully God and fully man. Other verses say this:

. . . the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. (2 Corinthians 4:4)

He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, (Hebrews 1:3)

Why is this significant? How is it even possible? In my thinking, why limit God to our understanding of how things work? If the Bible is true in saying nothing is impossible for God, then there is no reason to ridicule the idea that He could be born in a human womb. The Bible indicates God wanted to reveal Himself to humanity. He is invisible. What other way could He do that and be believable? A spectacular sky show? Writing on the wall? Revelation into the mind? An article in the newspaper?

Because we are created in His image, what better way to show us what He is like by appearing as one of us — only without sin?

I’ve never had a problem with the virgin birth. In my thinking, any birth is totally amazing. Our human ideas of how to reproduce ourselves falls short. A clone is not a new creation and some of the science fiction efforts are downright comical. We are fearfully and wonderfully made by a God whose IQ goes far beyond genius. His creative powers are incredible. Our efforts to explain them are laughable and full of holes.

I should not be too hard on those who stumble over the idea of a virgin birth. God does say their minds are blinded and they cannot see the glory of Christ. I’ve been there. It is a miracle also that He can open blind eyes. As the NT says:

For what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. (2 Corinthians 4:5–6)

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Jesus, You know how difficult it is for any of us to fully grasp the amazing truth of who You are. How can it be that God came to visit us, to redeem us, even to take on the task of transforming us into Your image? It happens — only because nothing is impossible for God. You truly take my breath away!

Faith is the conviction of things not seen . . .

A Christian cult insists that Jesus is not God. One of their members jumped up and down on my doorsteps yelling that belief at me, as if his repetition would make it so. Had it not been so serious and a matter of eternal destiny, I would have laughed at his actions.

This particular group’s theology changes the Bible so that the reading John 1:1 supports their idea. All other bibles say, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” Their change makes it say that Jesus was “a god” — but this cannot be. First, the original language does not have the article ‘a’ so this cannot be inserted there. Second, the Bible continually says God is one, so saying Jesus is a god makes two. That does not work either.

Those who depend on Christ alone for their salvation know that Jesus is God. This knowledge is a faith matter, revealed by the Holy Spirit, but otherwise unseen or a total puzzle to those without faith. Yesterday I said that even those with faith cannot fully understand it; we just know it is true.

Faith is a gift, a revelation from God of Himself through Jesus Christ. When the disciples saw the risen Christ, this gift of faith changed their lives. It happened just after Jesus rose from the dead:

On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being locked where the disciples were for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.”  . . . .and  breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld.”

These men believed in Jesus before, but not with that saving faith that comes from God. Now they saw the resurrected Christ and were given the Holy Spirit.

However, one of them missed this event:

Now Thomas, one of the twelve, called the Twin, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he said to them, “Unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into his side, I will never believe.”

Eight days later, his disciples were inside again, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe.” Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!”

Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name. (John 20:19–31)

Jesus is the Son of God, God the Son, God in human flesh. This is the only way to make sense of verses like these:

“Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel” (which means, God with us). (Matthew 1:23)

Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM.” (John 8:58 cf. Exodus 3:14)

“I and the Father are one.” (John 10:30)

“To them belong the patriarchs, and from their race, according to the flesh, is the Christ, who is God over all, blessed forever. Amen.” (Romans 9:5)

“Great indeed, we confess, is the mystery of godliness: He was manifested in the flesh, vindicated by the Spirit, seen by angels, proclaimed among the nations, believed on in the world, taken up in glory.” (1 Timothy 3:16)

But of the Son he says, “Your throne, O God, is forever and ever, the scepter of uprightness is the scepter of your kingdom.” (Hebrews 1:8)

^^^^^^^^^^^

Jesus, the Scriptures are plain, at least to those who believe them. Your identity as fully God and fully man came together when You granted the gift of faith so my sinful eyes were opened to see who You are, and to experience Your gracious and loving forgiveness and salvation. Yes, Your identity is not easy to understand, but like lesser blessings (such as electricity, digestion, and  all sorts of other phenomena), I don’t need to understand how everything works to believe that it is true!

God with us

And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!” (Luke 2:13–14)

Angels were present on many important occasions, joining in a solemn chorus to praise their Almighty Creator. They were present at the creation: “The morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy” (Job 38:7).

They had seen planets fashioned by God and hurled by His hands through of space. They sang songs over the creation and may have often declared, “Blessing and honor, and glory, and majesty, and power, and dominion, and might, be unto him that sits on the throne” (Revelation 5:13).

The angelic songs gathered force through the ages. When first created, their first breath was song, so when they saw God create new worlds, then their songs rose higher in adoration.

But when the time came, the angels saw God stoop from His throne and become a babe nursing at His mother’s breast and they lifted their notes higher still. As Spurgeon says, they reached the uttermost stretch of angelic music and gained the highest notes on the divine scale of praise.

They sang, “Glory to God in the highest” for higher in goodness they felt God could not go. Their highest praise was given to His most incredible action of our Creator God.

Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel, which means, “God with us” (Matthew 1:23).

God is with us

Yesterday my husband read a selection from a book by Max Lucado that I discovered on a blog. As he read, a stillness filled the room and the presence of Jesus became obvious. We experienced a surprising moment of awe and worship.

Today I’m reading verses where God promised to be with His people. Most of these are the words of Jesus, but they begin with the promise of His coming and the amazing idea God becoming man and entering our world.

Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel (which means, God with us). (Matthew 1:23)

We have been singing the carols and enjoying that sense of Him being with us. For many, this “magic” is gone by now for thoughts go back to their normal busy lives, focused on other things. But Jesus He has not gone. His presence with His people is as real every day as it is on Christmas day. He said it would be so, emphasizing various contexts.

IN PRAYER: Again I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them. (Matthew 18:19–20)

IN OUTREACH: And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:18–20)

IN MINISTRY: If anyone serves me, he must follow me; and where I am, there will my servant be also. If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him. (John 12:26)

IN THREATENING SITUATIONS: And the Lord said to Paul one night in a vision, “Do not be afraid, but go on speaking and do not be silent, for I am with you, and no one will attack you to harm you, for I have many in this city who are my people.” (Acts 18:9–10)

IN ETERNITY: And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also. (John 14:3)

Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world. (John 17:24)

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Emmanuel, how wonderful! You are with me all the time. All I need to do is remember Your words; You promised to be with me and I believe You. When I think about this, it becomes a reality, an experienced sensation like the solemn stillness of a holy place, or the joy of a thousand voices singing Your praises.

On those few occasions when, no matter what I thought or tried, that sense of Your presence didn’t happen (very few times), even then I knew. Because You said You would be with me, I knew You were, even when I could not “feel” it. Thank You for such incredible assurance. Thank You that Your Word and promises are true and that You allow Your people the reality of You, God with us, every day and in all that we do.